Curriculum
The Innovation, Business and Law Center curriculum is comprised of courses that focus on technology advancement and business practices as they relate to the legal and medical fields. Below is a comprehensive list of courses that are the focus of the IBL Center.
91:601 Advanced Topics in Corporate Law
This research and writing seminar is designed to permit students to explore a wide range of corporate law topics. The topics will vary from year to year, and will include, but will not be limited to, the theory of the firm, fiduciary duties, corporate counseling issues, and the history of corporate law.
Students in this seminar will be required to develop and write papers in consultation with the instructor and present them to the class. Participants will receive two academic credits for seminar participation, plus two or three units of academic and writing unit for preparing papers.
Prerequisites: one law school or business school class in corporate law or consent of instructor.
91:208 Antitrust Law
This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to the federal antitrust laws dealing with restraints of trade, monopolization and mergers. We will examine the history of these laws and of their development in the courts; current doctrine and the legal and economic theories that underlie it; the analytical tools of the trade; and the sufficiency of economic efficiency as the measure of justice under the antitrust laws. Familiarity with economics is not a prerequisite
91:282 International Business Transactions
An introduction to legal and practical issues in international trade and investment, focusing on typical private transactions such as the sale of goods (including the documentary sales transaction, INCOTERMS, letters of credit, agency and distribution); transfer of technology (including franchising and licensing); and direct investment across national borders. The course focuses on the manner in which private international sales, investment and licensing transactions are structured to permit private businesses to minimize and plan for the risks associated with conducting business on a global scale.
The course surveys the key areas of international business and economic law which impact cross-border transactions. These are: 1. The basic documentary transaction (international sales and shipment contracts); 2. International trade regulation; 3. International investment law; 4. International dispute resolution; and 5. International Public Policy (corporate social responsibility, human rights and environmental concerns, policy and theory of international economic law). The course places equal emphasis on the "nuts and bolts" of international deal-making, e.g. drafting clauses and advising clients, as well as on policy matters and the theory of international economic relations. "
91:289 Competition Policy and Innovation (Spring, 2012)
This course will address the most important issues at the intersection of federal competition policy and intellectual property law. The term “competition policy” refers to the antitrust laws but also includes
competition policies that emanate from the IP laws themselves or from other regulatory provisions. Specific coverage will include exclusionary practices, collusion and joint ventures, vertical integration, as well as some procedural issues. The discussion of exclusionary practices will examine improper patent enforcement, patent and copyright “misuse,” refusals to license, patent accumulation and nonuse, anticompetitive innovation, and improper practices in the context of standard setting and networks. Under the heading of collusion and joint ventures we will discuss both the benefits and perceived threats of collaborative innovation, including patent pools and blanket licenses, mergers, and patent settlements. The treatment of vertical integration will consider resale price maintenance and nonprice restraints, the “first sale” doctrine, tying and exclusive dealing. We will also look at competition issues outside of the antitrust context that pertain to telecommunications and the internet, focusing on such issues as “net neutrality,” bundling of hardware and various types of media, and the consequences of vertical integration in the motion picture, music and related industries. The readings will be mainly federal judicial decisions from the Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeal, together with some secondary materials. The grade will be based on a final examination. There are no prerequisites. This course is available as a first year elective.
91:283 Copyrights
Will survey the law of copyrights, focusing primarily on the Copyright Act of 1976, Pub. L. 94-553, 90 Stat. 2541. Special emphasis will be given to the manner in which copyright protections affect new technologies, such as videotaping, computer hardware and software, electronic data transfer, and cable television rebroadcast, and the ability of such legal concepts to keep pace with technological developments.
91:450 Corporate Law Practicum
One student is selected for an externship with Justice Holland of the Delaware Supreme Court. Students are eligible for nine credits for a part-time externship and fifteen for a full-time externship. Students who elect the full-time externship must complete a two-credit paper. Students must also complete a class consistent with the goals of the externship. In some circumstances, externs may earn extra credits by enrolling in a Delaware Law School taught by Justice Holland. Prerequisite: 91:241 Corporations I.
91:241 Corporations I
Studies the structure and characteristics of the modern business corporation, including both the large, publicly held corporation and the closely held corporation. Particular attention is directed to the
distribution of powers among management, directors, and shareholders; the fiduciary duties which limit these powers; and the enforcement of such duties by shareholder suits.
The four-credit course will cover these topics as well as a few additional general corporations topics. The course may also cover the basic principles of agency, partnership, and limited partnership law.
91:306 Cyber and Electronic Law
This three-credit-hour course addresses a wide range of legal and public policy issues created by electronic technologies: computers, the Internet and Web, and other electronic communications and new media - including privacy and surveillance; cyber-torts (defamation) and cyber-crime; cyber-terrorism and cyber-warfare; social networking in politics and revolution; cyber-property both real (copyright, Fair Use, and trademark) and virtual; First Amendment and restrictions on speech; geography and sovereignty (jurisdiction); regulation by means of technology as well as law; electronic commerce; broadband and other transmission technologies policies (net neutrality); intermediaries' liability for content, and yes, even cyber-sports.
91:262 Federal Regulation of Health Care Industry: Fraud and Abuse
This course provides an introduction to the impact of governmental regulation on business planning and transactions in the context of the application of federal fraud and abuse laws to organizational entities and individuals in the health care industry. Health care expenditures account for nearly 15% of the gross domestic product, and the financing, and delivery of health care services is subject to extensive governmental regulation. A primary focus of governmental regulation is to combat health care fraud and abuse. Health care fraud and abuse has been defined so as to encompass not only improper billing for health care services but also many types of financial relationships and arrangements involving health care providers. Health law has become a major practice area, and health care fraud and abuse is a major component of this practice area. The coverage of this course will include an examination of federal laws used to combat health care fraud and abuse, such as the False Claims Act and the Stark law, corporate compliance programs and federal health care fraud and abuse enforcement efforts, such as criminal investigations and prosecutions. This course will be of value to students with an interest in business law and to students interested in criminal law and procedure as well as health law. Prerequisite is Corporations I or its equivalent recommended.
91:261 Health Law
This course explores a number of major areas of present concern in the area of health law most of which involve some analysis of the tension between quality, access and costs. Topics covered might
include: malpractice, quality control, health care financing, access (insurance, Medicare and Medicaid), licensing, and bioethics (end-of-life decision making, informed consent, surrogacy and organ transplantation). There are no prerequisites for this course.
91:286 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law
This course is designed for students who are seeking either a general overview of intellectual property law, or a starting point for courses in particular disciplines within intellectual property law. The course will introduce the concept of intellectual property, survey decisions in patents, trademark & unfair competition, copyright, trade secret and related areas, and will examine issues involving the intersections between those areas. No technical background is expected. Students who plan to take Patent Law (91:324), Trademark and Unfair Competition Law (91:369), Copyrights (91:283), International Intellectual Property Law (91:229), or any intellectual property seminar are strongly urged to take this course prior to or concurrently with any of those courses or seminars.
91:620 Law and Technology Seminar
This year-long seminar, limited to 16 students, will explore the existing law and literature relating to ethical issues surrounding medical research. The goal of the seminar is to produce a model statute, hopefully to be published, addressing the range of issues in this area with suggested solutions.
During the fall semester the class will define the scope of the statute. Students will then undertake substantial research projects in order to identify existing law, policies, and practices and develop competing ideas and approaches for addressing the identified issues. These projects (in the form of extensive research papers and reports) will form the basis upon which the seminar students, functioning as a drafting committee modeled after the Uniform Law Commission, will further define and vote upon the scope and policies to be addressed in the comprehensive statute. Further research memoranda on specific topics will be undertaken through the year as the statute takes specific shape.
No later than the end of the first semester, students will be assigned portions of the proposed statute to draft. Once drafting begins the seminar will meet at least weekly, often in long evening sessions, to review, revise, and refine the statutory language in the Act. The completed model act, with explanatory and analytical commentary, may be distributed to various groups and organizations for comment. The ultimate goal is to have the model statute published.
91:660 Medical Tutorial for Law Students
The Colleges of Law and Medicine at the University of Iowa are co-sponsoring a Medical Seminar for Law Students.
Enrollment in the seminar is limited to 8 students.
On each day of the program, students will spend (1) up to 2-3 hours on medical and/or surgical rounds under the supervision of an attending
physician (2) up to 2-3 hours in didactic sessions discussing legal, medical and ethical issues arising from the clinical experience, as well as targeted discussions on issues of perennial interest to the legal profession, such as peer review, credentialization, quality assurance, cost containment, AIDS, reproductive technology, etc. and (3) up to 2 hours exploring recent developments in medical technologies.
Students will earn 2 academic credits for this Seminar and will be required to prepare a 20 page paper on an arranged topic. Students who wish to write longer papers and earn writing units must negotiate this with the instructor. Drafts of the paper will be due in early April and will be presented and discussed by the entire group at two evening sessions to be scheduled for that purpose. Final drafts will be due at the end of the semester. Prerequisite: 91:261 Health Law or the equivalent.
91:324 Patent Law
This course covers all aspects of U.S. patent law, including patent claims, adequacy of disclosure, statutory subject matter, validity, inequitable conduct, infringement, remedies, and a variety of other specialized doctrines. The course focuses heavily on recent pronouncements from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Although the course does deal with advanced technologies to some extent, no scientific or engineering background is required.
91:604 Patent Prosecution
This drafting seminar focuses on patent application preparation and prosecution. Students will complete a series of graded drafting exercises and deliver presentations on advanced patent law topics. The seminar emphasizes the administrative rules and procedures governing practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and is especially designed for students who plan to practice patent law. Patent law is a prerequisite.
91:355 Securities Regulation
This course examines the regulation and sale of securities to the public under the Securities Act of 1933 and state blue-sky laws. The course also examines remedies provided through the Securities Act. In addition, the course examines regulation and litigation under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which focuses on companies with publicly traded securities.
Corporations I is a prerequisite.
91:369 Trademark & Unfair Competition Law
This course examines an important branch of intellectual property law. Trademark law protects words and symbols that identify the source of goods and services, thus securing commercial identity and preventing consumer confusion. The course covers the acquisition and retention of trademark rights, registration, infringement, and remedies. It examines the application of Sec. 43(a) of the Lanham Act to protect creative, as well as commercial products.